A GOOD READ

"Divergent" by Veronica Roth, HarperCollins (487 pages,$14.75, ages 14 and up)This is the first book of the Divergent trilogy, where a society is divided into five factions - Candor (the honest), Erudite (the intelligent), Amity (the peaceful), Dauntless (the fearless) and Abnegation (the selfless).The story focuses on Beatrice, "Tris," a 16-year-old girl who decides to leave her faction, Abnegation, to join the Dauntless. When a child turns 16, they can choose whether they want to stay or leave their faction at a choosing ceremony. The book follows Beatrice on her journey, through initiation, to join the Dauntless. She goes through many emotional and physical challenges. Friends she thought she could count on turn on her. She has to defend her life. But she also has good times with friends who help her and her first taste of freedom.You think you know what is going to happen next, but then the story takes an unexpected twist. It's the perfect book to help break up school work and everyday life.I cannot wait to read the next two books of this series. Definitely on my winter reading list.- Audean Jimerson, home-schooled sophomore from Hamburg

TRY THIS ON

Their slogan is "Custom Everything," from T-shirts to Converse sneakers to even underwear! The Ave can customize anything wearable. Based in Venice Beach, Calif., The Ave offers Vans Slip Ons, baseball caps, T-shirts, sweatshirts, shorts, underwear, baby onesies, and Converse Chuck Taylor's customized the way you want them. Every item is specially made by the staff at The Ave in their concept shop. The Ave ships their products worldwide. The customer is able to go on The Ave's website, www.theavevenice.com, and pick the item of clothing they want, then they can choose one of The Ave's premade designs or upload any photo to the website and put the photo on the article of clothing. Nick Romero opened The Ave in 2010. The store has a blog and is on Tumblr, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. The Ave, with its creative staff and humorously detailed history, is a unique and unrivaled establishment. Go on, check it out!- Sabina Mogavero, freshman, Pioneer High School

WIN A WARDROBE

If you're already bored with your back-to-school wardrobe, Aťropostale is here to help. They are offering one lucky girl the closet of a lifetime, and all you have to do is snap a picture.The contest is called ChloŽ's Celebrity Closet, named after their celebrity brand ambassador, actress ChloŽ Grace Moretz ("Hugo," "Diary of A Wimpy Kid"). It's easy to enter; just snap a picture of your closet, upload it to Facebook.com/aeropostale (hurry, today is the deadline!) and explain in 300 words or less why you deserve to win. You can also upload a picture from your phone to aerocelebcloset.com.Once your closet is uploaded, you can browse through other entrants' closets and vote for your favorites until Oct. 5. Contestants with the most votes will make it into the top 10, and then it's up to Chloe to decide which finalist deserves the new wardrobe. The winner will receive a check for $10,000 to shop.To learn more about the contest, check out aeropostale.com. There, you can also shop through ChloŽ's favorite Aťropostale items, such as leopard flats, leather jackets and graphic tees.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"I do little [pranks] all the time. When my makeup artist is doing my makeup, I like to scare her when she is really focused. I jump back in my chair, and she freaks out. It's actually not very smart because it can totally mess up what she's doing."- Singer Demi Lovato on the last prank she pulled, to People magazine-McClatchy Newspapers